Taking Your Camera on the Road

All our friends who travel with us rely upon Lorelle to handle the packing organization. In fact, our best buddy, Duane Hansen, explains that Lorelle can do what scientists have never accomplished: violate the laws of the three dimensional universe. Somehow, she fits it all in and there is still room to spare.

Packing isn’t hard. It’s just a matter of thinking of things as three dimensional puzzle pieces. You have to find the way they all fit together. Sturdy and hard things go on the bottom. Smashables get pressed around the hard things and into small crevices as you find them. Everything has a container or is tied together. The things you need most, keep handy.

The Carrying Case

In the “good old days” you had a choice of a duffle bag or a hard or soft style box called a suitcase. Today, you have many choices from sophisticated suitcases within suitcases with wheels, pop-out work desks, and security alarms, to backpacks designed for the weather on Mt. Everest. More and more traveling nature photographers are choosing backpacks for their ease of carrying. Whichever way you go, here are some tips:

Carry It/Test Drive It

Put all of your typical travel gear together at home and weigh it. This will give you a starting point. At the store, ask the backpack specialist to put weights into the pack or case you are considering that match your travel gear weight. Haul the thing around the shop a few times. Does it carry the weight well? Does it tip over or do you struggle akwardly going up stairs or around corners? Experiment with different cases and packs to see which fit you best and make the effort of lugging your stuff around effortlessly – or as easy as possible. When you make your decision, check on their return policy and take the thing home, load it up, and walk your neighborhood (or at least around the house). As a backpack “warms up” it will fit you better. If it is still feeling good after a few laps, then you got a great buy. If not, take it back. Professional travelers estimate that you should be able to carry your own luggage at least a half mile (1 km) with some ease.

Go for Volume

How big should you go? We tend to go really big, often fitting one case inside another, just in case. But then we often travel for long periods of time. REI recomends about 3,200 cubic inches for a weekend, 4,000 cu. in. for one or two weeks, and 12,100 cu. in. for trips lasting a month or longer.

To Wheel or Not to Wheel

Today, even backpacks come with wheels, making the race through the airport a lot easier. Yet, wheels add weight. If you will be traveling a lot by car, staying in hotels and easy-to-access lodges, then wheeled packs make sense. If you are planning on hiking or hauling your pack around for hours on end, skip the weight of the wheels and spend your money on a sturdy frame and excellent back support.

How Do I Find My Stuff?

Whether you decide on a traditional form suitcase or backpack, examine your zippers. Figure out how it opens and closes and how you will store your stuff inside. Is it easy to get access to the things you want? Does it have the right compartments for you? Backpacks are no longer limited to loading only from the top. Many feature middle and side openings. Experiment to make sure you can easily get to what you want without taking everything out to find anything.

Carry-on Angst

Brent VanFossen flies with his guitar strapped to the seat next to him in the airplane.

The ease of carrying all your camera gear on the plane is long gone. There are now serious restrictions on carry-on luggage size and weight. Once the airlines only worried about size, making sure the thing would fit under the seat. Today, they are weighing every gram. Check with the airlines you will be traveling on for specifics, but in general, carry-on luggage is restricted to no larger than 22x14x9 inches (55x35x22 cm) and 40 pounds in the USA, though much less on most other non-US airlines. We are now putting our tripod in the middle of our suitcase for padding, and packing flashes, small lenses, and other “non-essentials” into our case instead of carrying it with us.

Roll and Stuff

The main trick to defying the three dimensional universe is rolling. By tightly rolling up pants and shirts, even underwear, you compress them in size and shape to fit together like a honeycomb in your luggage. Press clothing items out towards the edges and corners of the bag to create insulation and padding for the more vulnerable things in the middle.

Space Bags are excellent for shrinking down clothing for travel. They hold a good quantity of clothing and reduce down to easily fit in a suitcase with room for other things. Space Bags are airtight plastic bags with a valve, and you remove the air with a vacuum, or by simply rolling them. They are available in a variety of sizes. But you don’t have to be limited by the expense of customized compression bags, you can also use ziplock bags. These come in a variety of sizes and can contain underwear, scarfs, socks, and a multitude of small things. Roll the item up in the bag and zip it part way. Compress the air out and roll it up the rest of the way, getting all the air out, and zip it. They usually stay tightly sealed and change a slightly space-consuming object into a controllable small roll.

Here are a few more specific tips:

Keep what you use frequently on top

Keep toiletries, wash cloths, towels, and head lamps where they are accessible. Put them on the top of suitcases so they are the first things to come out of the bag.

Sleeping bags

Replace your old bulky sleeping bag with a down-filled bag which squashes down practically to purse size. Sleeping bags can be laid flat underneath things, taking up little space, but that makes them difficult to get to unless you intend to take everything out first. So drape them over your gear, or cover the seats to keep them cool. Sleeping bags are great pads for wrapping around tripods in a suitcase. Who said they have to be nicely rolled up? Because of their flexibility, they can be shoved in and around almost anything.

Double Duty

Everything should have at least two purposes. Hopefully more. A big plastic bowl can be used for making salads and then for washing dishes. We drink all liquids from insulated coffee mugs instead of bringing extra glasses. Non-disposable plastic dinner plates can be used as cutting boards. Think through each item thoroughly and try to find as many uses for it as possible. Eliminate the redundancies.

Bag everything

Store toiletries, cooking supplies and liquids in plastic sealable containers and plastic sealable bags. They prevent spills and the messy cleanup afterwards. Keep cooking supplies in your car in a large plastic storage box. A removable lid doubles as a serving tray, too.

Water bottle containers and resealable baggies

Empty water bottles make great containers. Rice, cereal, liquid and crushable items can be put in sealable plastic bags, compressed and rolled up inside the bottle. When empty, fill with water.

Don’t Forget the Weather

When planning what to take with you when you go, here are some questions to take into consideration. First of all, consider the seasons and the location. What temperatures and weather conditons do you expect to find? How much time will you spend inside or out? How flexible does your clothing need to be? Do you need nice and elegant or will just baggy and comfy be good enough? Once you have a handle on the dress code and the weather, it is time to get serious with your suitcase.

Can You Get It There?

Don’t forget, there are plenty of things you can buy when you are there, and when you have more space to put things. If you are staying in hotels, you don’t need shampoo, soap, or a hair dryer as they usually provide those items. Renting a car? You can buy things like shampoo, towels, soap, toothbrushes, hair brushes, nail files, and other inexpensive items and toss them in the car. You don’t have to take it all with you, just buy it if you need it, and then toss it when you don’t need it or you are returning home. Items that can spill in your case, especially when banged around in an airplane, are best purchased when you need them at your travel destination, saving you the grief of opening your suitcase to find fingernail polish remover everywhere.

Do You Really Need This?

Don’t wait until last minute to pack. We open a suitcase a couple weeks before a trip and start tossing things in. Whatever we think we may need goes into the case as we go. It never seems to fail that if you think of something at last minute, you can’t find it. As you find the item, stick it in the case.

A few days before we leave we take it all out and put it all together again in the suitcase, ready to leave. There it sits, fermenting, for a day or so and then we unpack the whole thing and re-pack it again, this time with feeling. We go through the questions again. Do we really need this? Is the trip a disaster without it? Does it have more than one use? Am I bringing this out of some false expectation that I will need it (it looks pretty and I never get a chance to wear it at home) or because it really serves a purpose. You will be surprised at how quickly your priorities change throughout the fermentation process. You will toss out the things you really don’t need and realize you forgot to include some items you really do need.

As you consider each item, stop and ask yourself if you really need this? Is it easy to pack or require special handling? Can you find a smaller version of the same thing? Do you really need a full bottle of shampoo or will a small bottle do? Will the hotel have shampoo so you don’t really need it? Will the hotel have a hair dryer so you don’t need to bring one? Watch for duplicating items. Do you really need four bathing suits or will two be enough?

Laying out all the items, look for things which serve more than one purpose. A towel can become a pillow as well as a small blanket. A large plastic garbage bag acts as a waterproof poncho, covers your camera equipment, can be sat upon, and serves as a laundry bag, along with many other uses.

Luggage Tags

Another tip from Mary Mulari’s Travel Gear book is colorful ribbon luggage tags. Using either an iron-on label with our contact information or writing with indelible ink onto bright colored fabric ribbon, our luggage jumps out at us with this recognizable flag. We have found many other uses for this technique, too.

Finally, ask yourself if leaving the item behind will ruin the whole trip. If you are heading out for some spelunking and photographing caves, leaving your flash behind will be a serious mistake. Photographing wild animals or birds, in most cases it’s useless without a minimum 400mm lens. If you are going to the desert or beach, forgotten sunlotion can make it difficult to enjoy. Sun lotion can be easily purchased anywhere, but can you rent or replace a 500mm lens or the right flash for your camera? Look carefully at what you are bringing. If leaving it behind spoils the trip, make sure it goes into the suitcase first. If it won’t spoil the trip, then will it make it more enjoyable or do you really need it? This helps to narrow down the choices really fast.

Once More – With Feeling

Once you have packed everything, take some time to unpack it all and reconsider what you’ve packed. Once again ask yourself if you really need this.Can you make do with something else? You may find you brought three sweaters when only one was sufficient, or you forgot to pack your toothbrush. Go through your list and really examine each item you include as to its value and purpose. You’ll find yourself shrinking down your choices quickly.

Consider Losing Your Luggage

While lost luggage is becoming an unusual event nowadays, it still can happen. There is nothing more frustrating and liberating than losing your luggage. It quickly prioritizes the basic elements you need on a trip.

When my mother and I decided to spend an extended vacation in Morocco and Spain, our plans didn’t get off on the right foot too well when my luggage showed up and my mother’s didn’t. During the entire time we were in Morocco, she refused to borrow any of my clothing. She had brought an extra pair of underwear and an extra shirt for the 20 plus hour flight from Seattle in her carry-on, so every night she washed those out and hung them to dry. She would carefully fold her pants and slip them under the mattress to “press” them as she slept. She purchased a goat herder’s pullover jacket to keep her warm, which smelled like goat when it got wet, and a T-shirt for the more rugged excursions, easily available in the tourist spots. A scarf she always traveled with was draped over her shirt and pants to look more formal for evenings out. Losing her luggage changed her attitude about what was appropriate to wear for which occasions and taught her how to make do with what she had.

Packing for moving to Israel, I watched a month of careful shopping and planning go out the door after Brent weighed the first suitcase. Limited to 70 lbs per suitcase by airline restrictions, it came at near double that. The second suitcase was a bit less, as was the third, but we knew we were in trouble. Everything came out of the suitcases and we started over, prioritizing everything just a few hours before our flight. The items we couldn’t live without that related to work went in first. Slowly we added the barest of essentials, fighting the scale every time, coming back for more and more to come out of the suitcases. Weight restricts can be horrible to work with, but they do help you measurably prioritize what is most essential. We left a huge mess and tons of stuff behind for his parents to clean up after we left for the airport.

Consider losing your luggage or put weight restrictions on you luggage to help you prioritize your packing. Go through the packing questions and really look at what is most important to bring with you when you go. The less stuff you bring to tie you down, the more open you are to the wonders of your adventure.

The Art of Packing

When it comes to packing, size matters and so does convenience. Everyting should have dual purposes. Here are some neat itmes we’ve found and enjoyed to carry with us as we travel:

Make It Yourself Travel Kits

The Travel Gear and Gifts to Make book by Mary Mulari is a great resource for all kinds of do-it-yourself gadgets and gizmos for travel organization and storage. It includes making clothing hanger covers that feature pockets for storing jewelry and belts that match the outfit, as well as hiding money in it. And how to sew a pocket on your socks to hide money or keys. She has patterns for a rain poncho that stuffs into a chest pocket on the poncho, which then zips up into a small 4 x 8 inch pouch. Toiletry and makeup bags, jewelry bags, fanny packs, stuff sacks and all kinds of neat tricks designed for the traveler. You can buy it from a variety of arts and crafts and fabric stores, or order it direct at Mary Mulari’s Travel Gear Book, Mary’s Productions, Box 87, Aurora, MN 55705.

Platypus Bottles

Lorelle adores the Platypus water bottles found at serious recreational stores and available on the Internet. These bottles are designed from lightweight but “puncture-less” plastic and collapse as you consume the water, taking up less bulk in your bags. They come in a variety of sizes. The 1/2 liter is excellent for traveling. Lorelle often carries two, one in an easy-to-reach pocket and the other for later. The liter and larger bottles can be used as a “camel” bag, hung from your pack with a connecting tube to suck from strung to the front. The large 4 liter bag works best for leaving in the car or for long hauls with some form of transportation.

Portable Ironing Board

A great gadget Lorelle made is a roll-up ironing board she discovered in the book, Travel Gear and Gifts to Make: Accessories for Trips Around the Corner or the World, by sewing talent Mary Mulari. She took a pretty cotton fabric and the Teflon covered ironing pad from a used small ironing board and sewed the pieces together into a small ironing board shape, leaving the square end open. Stuffed two thick layers of cotton batting in it, sowed a ribbon on the end, rolled it up into a roll and tied it shut. It is about 3 – 4 inches high and about 10 – 12 inches long when rolled up. To use, you just unroll it and stuff newspaper or cardboard into the open end to provide a stiffener and you have a portable, roll-up ironing board. It’s great and real handy. A towel works just as good, but if you have to wear serious business clothing requiring ironing, this is a great alternative when you are not staying in the finest hotels which supply ironing boards. Even while camping, I can wear freshly pressed outfits and look like I’m not camping.

Stuff Sacks

Found in good quality camping stores, these small “bags” come in a variety of sizes. Originally designed for stuffing in a sleeping bag and using the side compression straps to shrink it down in size, these also work great for clothing, towels, and other “stuffable” and “crushable” items. Make sure you don’t put anything hard or sharp inside these bags as they will poke and tear the sack. Stuff them to the top and pull the side straps as tight as possible to shrink the whole mess down.

Bring the Office

Don’t forget to bring the office with you when you go. Many stationery, office supply stores, and camping stores offer little “kits” which feature a pen, ruler, paper clip, scissors, stapler, or even a scotch tape dispender in a little container not much larger than a credit card. Be sure and keep this in your suitcase and not your carry-ons when you fly.

Be Creative

Who says that only the best travel goodies come from fancy travel stores. We use a lot of interesting items made from the simplest of supplies.

Skewer Cleaning

We use a cooking wood skewer and twist some cotton on the end and you have an instant cotton swab for cleaning those hard to reach places and other needs.

Stuff stockings

We use socks as gloves when the weather changes unpredictably. Thick socks are fairly inexpensive and easy to find. You can also cut the toe off and make a flexible knee protector against the cold or rough terrain. Wear them inside your pants, using the heel towards the front of the knee. They can also be cut to act as ankle warmers, covering up more of the leg or to provide an extra layer on the lower leg for warmth. A long wool sock can be pinned around the neck to provide a turtleneck warmth there, too. Don’t forget pantyhose. While they are not the most comfortable items of clothing for women, they are good think insulators and wearable by men and women. People who spend a lot of time in cooler temperatures wear them as a thin insulation layer under their clothing. Cut the legs and feet off and you have an arm insulator, as well as a compression “skin” with which to cover and hold bandages in place on your arms and legs. Don’t worry, guys, no one will know except those who see you put them on.

Large Plastic Garbage Bags

We rarely go anywhere without plastic grocery bags and large plastic garbage bags. These are so versatile. The large bags can be turned into instant rain protection gear, covering yourself and your equipment. It can also serve as a wind protector. They can be made into hats, gloves, boot covers, and a wide variety of clothing covers and protectors. Tie one around your waist to waterproof your backside when sitting on damp or cold ground. Or just set your camera equipment and cases on one to protect it from the dirt or sand on the ground. As a last resort, use it to carry out dirty laundry, or even the garbage from the area.

Recycle Dishes

Traveling in Spain in a rented small motor home, we found the dishes they provided inadequate for our needs. We needed a salad bowl for our frequent need for greens, small mixing bowls for making salad dressings, sauces, and other goodies (we cook a lot for ourselves on the road to save money in the expensive tourist restaurants, which we can’t go in because of the smoking anyway), and bowls for ice cream and storing left-overs. We found that some of the plastic containers and jars that came with food we purchased worked great for reusing as practical bowls and containers. Jars from homemade local jam-makers were emptied quickly and became left over containers and drinking cups. A plastic container carrying take-away became another. A baked chicken container became a salad bowl. Yogurt “cups” became salad dressing “mixing” bowls. Use your imagination and what you have instead of spending money to buy dishes you won’t need at the end of your trip.

Pad It

Sanitary napkins or panty liners are excellent emergency bandages on serious wounds and cuts. If the serious wound or cut is on the arm or leg, instead of using tape, consider holding the pad against the wound with cut pantyhose legs. Soak the pads in water to act like a sponge for cleaning sores. Panty liners work well to protect blisters and other foot injuries and work as padding in your shoes. Sanitary napkins are really just highly compressed cotton so they are small and lightweight with their own protective containers, fitting easily into any case or camera bag.

We are always looking for good ideas and suggestions for traveling and packing. Add your ideas and suggestions below.

Figuring out what to take in the way of clothing is one of the hardest decisions many people make. For men, it appears easy and simple, shirts, pants, underwear and socks, but it isn’t always. For women, it can be a nightmare as ego and etiquette get in the way of common sense. With all the stress associated with traveling today, choose comfortable clothing that suits your comfort needs as well as the climate and environment of your destination.

Taking your camera on the road, you need to be ready for a variety of weather conditions. On one two week trip during an extreme and unusual heat wave in Western Canada, we spent the first week suffering in tank tops and shorts, then spent the next week suffering from freezing temperatures in a freak snow storm that dropped 4 inches of snow on us. You learn to be ready for anything on the road.

Preparing for Anything

Where are you going and what will you be doing? As you prepare your clothing choices, monitor the weather at your destination for as far in advance as possible. The Internet provides a wide range of weather stations and information easily available, and you can also monitor shortwave radio and the international news channels to get a handle on the weather there. Check on the Internet or with travel agents or through other sources to find out what the average temperatures and weather conditions should be like while you are there. Due global warming and other climatic changes, all of this information can only guide you. You still don’t know what you will find once you are there, so go for the average conditions you expect to find.

Remember, you aren’t just dressing for weather. You are also dressing for the environment.

If you are heading to Florida, you can expect to encounter warm temperatures year around. Remember you are also dressing for the environment. Certain times of the year, the mosquito population is fairly vigorous, so you also have to dress for the bugs. The same goes for certain times of the year in Alaska, where they claim the mosquitos grow the size of airplanes. Consider the environment and be prepared for the bugs you may find and protect yourself accordingly through proper protective clothing and bug repellents.

The environment you have to consider isn’t limited to bugs and other creepy crawlies. Excessive humidity and rains play havoc with glasses and camera gear, so be sure and bring hats and protective coverings for your self and your gear. Freezing temperatures require protective layering, glasses or goggles, gloves and scarves. Living in Israel, we are often affected by the blowing desert sands of the Middle East, getting grit into everything, our eyes, noses, mouth, skin, and camera gear, so protective coverings are essential as these winds can blow up with little notice, though they are getting to be more predictable with advanced weather analysis.

What will you be doing after you arrive? The answers affect your clothing choices. Even in the coldest weather, if you will be hiking, climbing, skiing, or expending a lot of physical energy, heavy cold weather clothing might keep you warm when you are sitting or standing, but it will cause you to quickly overheat with exertion. You have to find a comfortable medium.

Shorts and T-shirts might be perfect for campgrounds and beach wear, but some destinations, especially those with strong dress codes due to cultural or religious policies require more conservative clothing choices. Cruise ships and some health spas permit casual clothing for day use but more sophisticated styles in the evening. What will you be doing at your destination isn’t limited to climate and activity, it must also encompass the standards and expectations of others.

Layering

One of the best ways to insure you are ready for all kinds of weather with the least amount of specialty clothing is by layering. A T-shirt under a long sleeve shirt, followed by a sweater and a jacket can be just as warm as a single heavy coat. Add long-johns and you will be fairly warm and protected from the cold. Keeping the chest area warm is important, and two T-shirts worn together can give added warmth when long-johns are home in the closet. When working out in the cold, or on a day that starts cold and warms up, as your body temperature rises, it’s easy to shed the layers.

Nature and outdoor photography requires a lot of time hiking and working hard to get access to natural areas. It also requires a lot of time sitting still and waiting, often in extreme temperatures. Layering provides you with a way to shed the layers as you hike to your destination, and then you can add the layers back for the long sit in the snow.

There is no single right combination of clothing for the traveling photographer, but a combination of techniques to help you during the heavy activity as well as the still moments. By layering, it allows for facing a variety of conditions with lightweight and comfortable clothing and fabrics. Top off your layer with a waterproof jacket and a good hat and you’re ready to go.

The hat! The hat is an all purpose, all weather protection. No matter the weather condition, a hat should be a requirement for the traveler. It must suit all the different weather conditions from extreme heat to pouring rain, or you need a specific hat for the weather conditions you will face. Some hats come with draped fabric that hangs down the back of the neck to protect it from the sun. Other hats come with roll up or down mosquito netting to protect against mosquitos. Choose an appropriate protective hat and then worry about the colors matching your outfit later. Protection first.

Here is our basic clothing inventory for our travels for each of us. So for the two of us, double the quantities.

• 2 pair of pants
• 3-4 shirts
• 5-6 underwear
• 5-6 socks
• 1 pair comfortable tennis shoes and/or sandals
• 1 pair hiking boots
• Spare shoe and boot strings
• Waterproof shirt/windbreaker
• 1 Mosquito head net
• 1 Bathing suit
• Polypropylene long underwear
• Polypropylene gloves
• Waterproof pants
• Rain cap
• Knit cap
• 1 cotton dark or neutral colored large scarf
• Microfiber Polar Fleece scarves
• Face shields – baklava or scarves
• Ear muffs, headbands and hankies
• Umbrella or other waterproof Hat

The Packing List

Our friend, Leslie, loves traveling. He packs his life in a duffle bag that he has had for years and goes, trekking through India, around Europe, Africa, you name it, if the airfare is cheap enough, he has probably been there. He shared with us his famous packing list of 32 item categories and a first aid kit. The packing list can be reduced for less than seven days, but it is designed to be good for 7-21 days, doing laundry rarely. It is adjustable for various weather, but the basics stay the same. As a pharmacist, he is fairly particular about his first aid requirements, so all in all, it’s a great list.

Alarm Clock

One item often forgotten which needs to be segregated from the general packing list for the traveling photographer is the alarm clock. For a photographer on the road, this is a critical tool. Not only will it get us up in the morning at the pre-crack of dawn for that lovely morning light, it serves to wake us from our midday nap as well. An alarm clock is an individual purchase. You need to buy one that meets your special needs. Some people don’t mind a 5 minute snooze, others prefer 10 minutes. We prefer glow-in-the-dark numerals and hands, but others are bothered by that in the dark. We hate ones that tick, others enjoy the security of a steady noise. Whatever one you choose, make sure you carry extra batteries, and you bring it with you.

• 2 Towels (1 face and 1 large)
• 2 Trousers (1 slacks, 1 jeans)
• 4 T-shirts without sleeves (undershirts)
• 3 T-shirts with sleeves
• 1 Short (or long) sleeve shirt
• 7 underpants
• 7 socks (2 thick for walking or cold)
• 2 shorts
• 1 swimming suit
• 2 shoes (1 walking, 1 sandals)
• Sleeping bag plus liner plus foam pad
• Day Backpack
• Toilet Bag: Shaving kit, soap, q-tips, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, scissors, Toilet paper, comb, tweezers, nail file
• First aid kit: (some drugs have different names in different countries – these are generic terms) Iodo Mitis; Autan; thermometer; ciprogis 500mg; doxylin; protocide; imodium; sedistal; pramine; orset; moxypen 500mg; sedural; optalgin/acamol; cold/cough; bactroban; syntho 5%; otidine; plasters/pads plaster (bandaids); lariam; rubbers (condoms); nose drops; breathe-right plasters; anti-malarial – mephanquin; sanitary wipes
• Padlocks
• Leg wallet and money belt
• Papers: Passports, tickets, vouchers, visas, insurance, emergency numbers, mailing addresses
• 2 Passport photos
• Camera and film
• Hooded sweatshirt
• Dried fruits
• AMEX travelers cheques (enter numbers into file)
• VISA
• CASH
• Empty nylon bags
• Windbreaker (light coat)
• Rain mack (nylon rain coat)
• Torch (flashlight) and batteries
• Radio and batteries
• Watch and extra battery
• Clock and extra battery
• Water bottle

Like Leslie, make your own packing list and edit it before, during, and after each trip so you streamline the list of things you take with you when you travel. So often we pack too much, when only a little is necessary. With your own list, you can customize your packing list to your specific needs, then vary only for weather and length of time. Honestly, with a few pieces, you can mix and match and make three or four outfits become eight or more different outfits.

We’d love to hear about your tips for travel, so post a comment below and let us know how you pack less in order to get more out of your travels.

When we go camping, we often go from desert to mountain conditions in one day. We expect the weather to change frequently and we have to be ready for anything. We also want totstay out in the field as long as possible, to maximize our photographic time, taking advantage of the changing light and situations as they happen. Therefore, to avoid trips into town for food and supplies, we carry our food and kitchen with us, as well as all our accomodations (tent, sleeping bags, etc) and camp as close as possible to our photo location, often with only a short walk or drive so we can arrive well before dawn, ready to go. Brent, an extraordinary cook, prepares all our meals on a single burner Peak One stove and we eat out in the field a lot. What we take with us must be compact and flexible enough for all kinds of weather and terrain.

Following our packing rules include bringing things which are compact and serve more than one purpose, we’ve come up with some tips to help you concentrate on the photography and not the fuss of camping.

When preparing your camping gear, break it down into three sections: shelter, food and entertainment. Here are some tips and advice about what to bring with you when you go camping.

Shelter: Sleep Comfortably

Due to the variety of weather conditions we experience as we travel as nature photographers, we can’t afford to have one test and sleeping bag for summer and another set for winter. So we’ve found a happy medium that allows us to mix and match (layer) our sleeping accomodations to make it through the most extreme and non-extreme weather conditions we encounter. Our tent, a three season Sierra Design, sleeps the two of us comfortably. We cut a heavy-duty plastic sheet sized a bit bigger than the tent bottom and set the tent on this. We fold the edges under the lip of the tent to keep water from pooling. This protects the bottom of the tent and acts as a moisture barrier against wet or snowy ground.

Just like layering your clothing, we do the same with our sleeping bags. We use a three layer technique with our sleeping bags. The bottom layer is the sleeping pad which insulates your body from the temperature of the ground as well as from moisture and uneven terrain. In the middle layer is the sleeping bag, down-filled and good for temperatures just below freezing. In the middle layer closest to our skin, we use a sleeping bag insert, typically a cotton or flannel sheet which acts like a bedsheet between your body and the blankets. This thin layer is often enough for warm temperatures, allowing the sleeping bag to act like another pad beneath us, or another layer of warmth inside the sleeping bag during cold temperatures.

Let’s look at these layers more specifically:

Sleeping Bags

Down-filled sleeping bags are usually light-weight and pack down to small sizes and provide excellent comfort and warmth for cold temperatures while being light enough for mild nights. We choose regular rectangular sleeping bags instead of mummy bags so we can zip them together to sleep two in a single bag.

Sleeping Bag Inserts

In all weather conditions, we add the inside layer called a "sleeping bag insert" inside the sleeping bag. Campmor sells flannel inserts for sleeping bags. Similar to bed sheets, these fit inside the bag. Instead of washing the whole sleeping bag after a long trip, we just wash the insert. It adds a warm layer during the winter, and acts like a light-weight blanket for the summer when we sleep on the sleeping bags using only the insert for covering, and providing extra warmth during cold temperatures. The best part about it is that we only have to wash the insert and not the sleeping bag during long trips, saving serious cleaning of the sleeping bags after we get home.

Sleeping Support and Comfort

You’ll sleep better and more comfortably if you use a pad of some kind between the sleeping bag and the hard ground. Closed cell foam sleeping pads are very lightweight and pad the ground well providing insulation and padding from the cold ground. Combined with Therm-A-Rest self-inflating pads, it’s almost as good as a real bed. A good night’s rest is important for a clear head for photographing wildlife the next morning.

Food: The Mobile Kitchen

We live cheaply on the road. We do all our own cooking, eating out only on long drives and special occasions. It brings the costs down, but more importantly, it allows us to eat anywhere, even in the field, so we can spend more time behind our camera.

While everyone has their own food and cooking habits, we’ve pruned our mobile kitchen down to the basics, keeping in mind that everything must have at least two uses.

Reuse Plastic Bottles

We save small plastic squeezable bottles like ketchup, mustard and salad dressings to store liquids in for camping. We keep dish soap, bleach, liquid laundry soap, body soap, and even baking supplies like flour and cornstarch in them. We like using bright yellow mustard bottles for dish soap and important liquid items, as they are hard to miss among the clutter.

Real plates

Nothing gives food a more appealing presentation than being served on a real plate while camping. We use durable plastic plates and bowls, washing and reusing them as we go. Paper and disposable plastic only clutters the environment and needs to be carried out of the wilderness.

Plastic Buckets or Bins

We carry kitchen gear in plastic bins specially sized for our requirements, holding all of our dishes, stove, silverware and pots all in one place. We use the lids to sit on, and as carrying trays or small tables. We store all the cooking and food products in heavy duty resealable plastic freezer bags. Cooking gear can get messy and greasy, so keeping it in its own bag all the time keeps everything else in the box from getting dirty.

Towels for a Greener Earth

As nature photographers, we honor nature by not using disposable paper or plastic products except for napkins and the occasional paper towel, primarily for greasy substances between cleanings. We use cloth towels which are washed by hand after dinner and hung out to dry. It’s our little part to keep this planet green.

Haul Them Until You Can Clean Them

Water and sinks aren’t always readily available, so we carry large plastic bags to store the dirty dishes and pots until we can clean them.

Haul It Until You Can Dump It

We carry a lot of extra grocery bags to stuff garbage in and carry it with us until we find a proper trash disposal unit. Wild animals are exceptionally attracted to the smell of food and rotting food smells carry far with the wind. Animals who learn that humans represent food present a problem both to the humans and the wildlife. Haul it and dump it appropriately to save everyone.

Eating Well

Camping is not always about eating hot dogs and hamburgers. Stir-fries are easy to make by just tossing seafood or meats and vegetables into the skillet with some seasoning, and serving it over instant rice. Pasta is always easy to make with cans of ready-made pasta sauce easily stored without refrigeration until open. Try some Fettucini Alfredo or use an Alfredo sauce, either home-made or packaged, over grilled chicken or fish. Frozen vegetables will thaw in an ice chest over time, but they will last through a whole weekend and can be used as a side dish or mixed in with the main meal. Fresh fruit travels well when protected from bumps and bruises, and are easy, portable food.

Sandwiches are a perennial favorite for traveling. They can be eaten anywhere and are self-contained meals. Sandwiches made with mayonnaise or other perishables need to be kept cold, but there are many other combinations that don’t require refrigeration. We usually add fresh turkey slices to our ice chest while traveling, with some cheddar and other cheeses for easy sandwiches and a good source of protein. Here is a special favorite of ours: Mix a can tuna with a little mayonnaise and add about a teaspoon of fennel seed to the mix. The added crunch to the tuna is a treat, but the fennel taste is magical.

Whenever possible, we stick to the freshest food, salads, fruit, vegetables, and meats. We carry items requiring refrigeration in a hard-sided ice chest. Among our dry goods, we carry all our seasonings in film canisters, labeled with indelible ink and covered with scotch tape. Food can have double-duty service, too. Cornmeal makes a good abrasive for cleaning the bugs off the front of the car or the windshield. It’s also good for dipping fish in before frying.

Use your imagination. Great meals can be made quickly and easily while traveling, saving money, too. For us, meal time on the road is a chance to slow down and catch up on what we’ve seen and done, and to look ahead to what is next. It is our time to share and be together, an important reason for taking the trip.

Deciding what “stuff” to take can make even the most experienced traveler cringe with angst. The more we travel, the less we seem to need, but then why is it so damn hard to zip up the suitcase every single time. There is always that one last thing to add that fills the bag – the thing we think we can’t live without. With today’s luggage restrictions, taking it all with you makes traveling even harder.

Before you start packing, check with the airlines to find out what your luggage restrictions are, in quantity, size and weight. These restrictions vary by airline and flight. Many European flights are now restricting passengers to one suitcase and one carry-on, calling a purse a carry-on. In the USA, in general, you are permitted two bags, a carry-on and a purse. In the USA, most airlines have a 60 pound (27 kilo) suitcase limit, with high fines for exceeding the weight limit. Many foreign airlines restrict you to 45 pounds (20 kilos) per suitcase. Carry-on luggage is also restricted now by weight. On average, most airlines restrict carry-on sizes to 22x14x9 inches (55x35x22 cm) and 40 pounds (18 kilos), though we’ve found much lower weight restrictions in Europe (one limited us to 8 kilos/18 lbs). Keep the weight scale near you as you pack and check it as you go.

Many traveling photographers are leaving the old box suitcases behind and going for backpacks, giving them maximum mobility moving from place to place. Make sure you protect yourself and your back by testing a backpack as thoroughly as possible before loading it up for a big trip. Don’t scrimp – spend some serious money on a serious backpack. Get one that will last as well as one that makes the trip, and your back, glad you spent the extra money.

Start at the store and try on the different packs with weights inside to get the “feel” of it. There are many different styles and harness designs, so try different ones. Eagle Creek, Jansport, and EMS design backpacks specifically for women, with shorter torsos and wide shoulder pads with narrow straps over the shoulders and down under the arms to accommodate the breasts. They are designed for a lower center of gravity and are much more comfortable to wear while carry heavy weights. Have the backpack specialist fit the pack to your body for the best fit and placement, and to teach you how to adjust it correctly.

Check the pack’s guidelines to determine the volume and weight limits to estimate how much it will carry. Packs open from the front, sides, and top, so check to see which loading access will work best with what you carry, while still allowing you easy access to camera equipment and water. Make sure they have a return policy, take it home, fill it with what you will be traveling with and walk around the neighborhood a few times. Professional backpack travelers recommend a pack that you can easily carry for at least a half mile without strain, though seasoned hikers and backpackers tell you it should be a least 2 miles before you need to rest. It depends upon your desired travel experience. Give the pack a bit of time to “warm” to your body, but if it is really uncomfortable, return it and try again. Find a good pack that will make your trip an enjoyable one, and use it well for years.

Do not lock your suitcases or carry-ons. In the USA, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) advises that they will break the locks without warning or compensation if they need to look inside your luggage, calling this a “necessary security precaution” in accordance with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 ( http://tsa.dot.gov ). If they do inspect your luggage, they are required to insert a note saying that they have done so. Do your best to make it easier for them by padding things in easy-to-open materials or clear padding, and by not taping up or wrapping anything that could be considered suspicious and require a lot of effort to unwrap. With my sensitive computer equipment, I put a note on the outside of the padding and on the inside identifying the equipment and requesting that if they have to open it for inspection, would they please securely re-wrap this item for its protection. So far, so good.

Photography and Computer
Equipment Crossing Borders

ALERT: Computer equipment is now being questioned and challenged in many international airports, and in major airports within the United States. Among the questions they are asking is if you have had the computer equipment repaired or serviced, is new or used, and if it has stayed within your possession at all times. In general, since we handle most of our own repairs on our computers, I say no if it has been fixed. You don’t have to lie, just be honest and give them as much information as they ask – and no more. Wireless and Bluetooth technology is also being questioned and investigated, as are super large hard drives and the various odd looking power adapters and cords. We’ve had our laptop seized by security in Israel and promised to be on the same flight arriving the next day. We got it almost a week later, broken and damaged, and the hard drive crashed within days. Be sure and stay with them while they pack the laptop and sensitive equipment for the next flight, no matter how much they argue. Follow them. Protest to everyone and write a lot of letters immediately. When possible, put the laptop and computer equipment well padded inside of your luggage rather than carry-on. This seems to make a difference.

While photography equipment is rarely questioned as it passes across borders, there are still some borders which give you hassles. If you are concerned about your equipment either being seized by the border customs, or taxed as an import, take time to create a detailed inventory of your equipment, including every filter and battery. List the manufacturer, place of purchase, date of purchase, purchase price and even the current market value (if needed). For big ticket items like camera bodies, big lenses, and tripods, include copies of the purchase receipt. Make at least three copies of all this information and take it and your equipment down to the customs office at any major airport (call ahead for times and directions) and fill out form CF4457, US Certificate of Registration, and attach the receipts and inventory to it. The customs officer will check the inventory list and form against your equipment and then issue the certification. The form is valid for re-entry into the country. The US Government Foriegn Entry Regulations has more information on entry and customs to foreign countries. Check your own country’s customs policies at their government web site.

Photographic equipment purchased, altered, or repaired outside of the country are subject to duty and should be declared to customs when re-entering your native country. The free personal duty exemption has been recently raised to USD$800 for returning US citizens.

Photographic film is permitted to be taken in and out of most countries without question, though you may have to show proof (receipts) that you are using the film for personal use if you carry large quantities. This is true of all types of film, unless you bought the film and had it exposed abroad. Then it “should” be counted as a dutiable item. If customs believes the film might contain prohibited material, such as child pornography, they can seize it without question.

In a series of articles called “Taking It With You When You Go”, we cover a wide range of options on what to take with you when you go. Regarding camera gear, take with you what you will need for the subjects you plan on photographing, and a backup lens and/or camera body – just in case. We’ve been carrying a 35-70mm lens for “just in case” for years and never used it. I’ve now decided to leave that one behind in the future, but I’m sure I will regret it. With the increased weight restrictions, every filter and roll of film adds to the weight and something has to come out. Put together what you absolutely have to have, weigh your luggage, and then add backups or optional equipment if you have room.

Clothes on Your Back

Regarding clothing, go easy on yourself. There is a lot of travel gear available today that is warm, waterproof, and made with thin, washable fabrics that dry quickly, even in low temperatures. Consider investing in lightweight travel clothing if travel and weight restrictions fill your life. Escaping from Israel, we found ourselves leaving behind almost everything except our sleeping bags and camera gear. We narrowed our clothing down to three days of clean clothes, wearable for six days if we didn’t sweat too much. Layers were the theme of the day. Skiing in Andorra, I wore my walking leggings under my cotton pants as long underwear and bought a sweatshirt for under my coat. Basic clothing is cheap just about anywhere in the world, so consider taking only the barest of needs, like two or three days worth of clothing and a week’s worth of underwear and socks, then buying clothes if you need them as you travel. You don’t need a new outfit for every day of your trip, unless you are going to show off your ability to buy stylish clothes. Keep it simple, washable, and flexible.

Like the towel in “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, I recommend men and women carry some form of a scarf about a meter square, usually made out of Egyptian or Indian cotton in a neutral or dark color. This can be used as a thin blanket, cover, umbrella, coat, pillow, wrap, towel, muffler, hat, and carrying bag. When waiting in a public area, I will drape it over my camera bag, purse, or pack as it sits beside me, lowering its profile from thieves. In religious areas, it can be used to cover heads, faces, necks, and arms if the religion requires it. It can be carried in the suitcase until needed, or stuffed in a pack, or hung around your neck, ready to use. Carrying this simple kind of scarf has saved me on many occasions when I needed that extra warmth from the cold, shielding from the sun, or an impromptu visit to a mosque.

Taking Paper on the Road

What papers should you carry with you when you go? Different countries require different paperwork, depending upon their visa and custom requirements, but in general, bring your driver’s license, an international driver’s license, passport, international health certificate (available from your doctor or health clinic), a copy of your birth certificate (to expedite replacing passports), international health and accident insurance papers and cards (for person and vehicle – if necessary), and more than one “type” of major credit card. Before you go, gather all this together and make at least three photocopies, including both sides of the bank cards. Put one copy in the bottom of your suitcase in a zip-lock, waterproof bag, and give the others to two friends or family members along with your itinerary. If needed, they should be able to fax or email the information to you anywhere in the world. Using today’s technology, we’ve scanned all of our critical information, including bank account and investment information, and stored it on a CD-ROM, with copies to our families and a good friend. Instead of a stack of papers, we can limit our weight to the most essential papers and the CD disk. For further security, access to the files on the CD can be encrypted. This is best for long term trips. If your passport goes missing or you have any other emergency, contact the local US Consulate/Embassy office in that country, using the copy of your birth certificate to speed up the process of passport replacement. Carry the embassy contact information with you before you leave home, just in case.

Money On The Run

While traveling, separate your credit cards so you never carry all of them in one place. Divide them up between your body and your luggage. If you are traveling with someone with the same credit cards, have each person each carry a different credit card so that if one is stolen or lost, the other person can still have access to funds after the other card has been reported and cancelled, avoiding a return to your hotel or lodging. If you will be traveling for an extended length of time, bring an extra copy of at least one cash/debit card in case the other becomes demagnitized or damaged. Keep the contact information for lost or stolen cards with you in an easy-to-access location.

If you travel extensively and frequently, consider choosing a large international bank for your bank services while traveling. If you are traveling to major cities, odds are that they may have an office there. Some banks offer special services for their traveling customers. Examples include (number of countries in parentheses):

• Citibank/Citigroup (100)
• Royal Bank of Canada (30)
• Barclays (60)
• Scotiabank (50)
• Deutsche Bank (76)
• Bank of America (30)
• HSBC (79)

Before your trip, call your credit card company and inform them of your travel plans including the departure and return dates. Most companies track abnormal use of your credit card and can “freeze” your account if in doubt. If this happen to you, call the number on the back of your card collect, and, after proving who you are, provide them with a short list of your most recent purchase locations and amounts to confirm that these charges are legitimate. Even if you advise your bank of your travel plans, sometimes the information is missed, so if you are told by a clerk that there is a problem with your card, ask them to hold your items and if they could help you call your bank. Most are very obliging. Upon returning home, check your bank statements carefully to make sure no illegal or “over” charging occurred.

Traveling through major cities and in “modern” countries, cash machines are usually easily accessible. The need for traveler’s checks are few, and rarely are they accepted anymore, even by some of the larger merchants. Most major bank cash/debit cards can be used overseas, but not at all cash machines. Check with your bank and on the back of your card for the cash machine “system” your bank is a member of. Common ones are Exchange, Plus, Cirrus, Maestro, and Accel. Look on the cash machine for the matching name and/or logo to ensure your card will work in that machine. If not, move on to another one and try again. If you will be spending time in that country, learn which bank’s cash machines work with your card to speed up the hunt for money. We recommend that you take the daily maximum cash out, usually USD$250 to $500 in equivalent foreign money, and separate the cash around on your body as well as in your kit. In general, you should carry about one week’s worth of cash. Thieves lurk around cash machines so lower your risk by visiting them less frequently. As you near the end of your trip, pay as much as you can with cash and then use your credit card when the money gets low so you will not lose money exchanging the foreign money back. Overseas, most banks will “hold” your cash withdrawal amounts until a time in the day when the exchange rate is “good”, usually giving you a better rate than any local money exchange.

What We Do

Traveling as two nature photographers and writers, we take a lot of STUFF with us when we go. Laptop, two to three cameras (sometimes four), numerous lenses, one tripod, binoculars, tons of film, and odds and ends of camera gadgets and power cords and cables. It is a lot. We put what we can, within weight restrictions, into our backpacks, often dismantaling camera bags and putting the less important and non-fragile equipment into our suitcases. When carry-on weight restrictions are very restrictive, we put take the head off our tripod and put the legs in the suitcase. We often use extra large men’s hunting socks and cut them at the ankle and use the foot part to stretch over the tripod head for padding. The legs fit along the bottom of the suitcase with clothing or breakables inside of ziplock baggies shoved in between the legs. The legs act as a protective constraint, keeping breakables from crushing. We wrap and pad the head well, and either carry it with us or put it in the suitcase, well protected. When we’ve carried the tripod on the plane, security tends to dismantal it and spend a lot of time inspecting it, so we save some time putting it in the suitcase, though suitcases are inspected before ticketing in Israel, and the tripod always attracts attention.

When camping is on the end of our flight, we use either large suitcases for our sleeping bags and pads or we take the SunDog Art Wolfe monster backpack (only available by special order) which will hold our Peak One stove, our lantern (never take gas or any flammable liquids onto a plane), two Thermarests, cooking utensils, and odds and ends of clothing stuffed in and about. We strap the Ridgerest sleeping support pads, if we need them, to the outside of the pack. The long pockets on the outside allow for water bottles to be placed here. The slot for the tripod expands open enough to stuff our rolled up tent inside, strapping it solidly against the pack.

Our clothing can fit into the other suitcases, including two pillows, hats, gloves, boots, and other necessary items for camping. Clearly, if we weren’t camping, the load would be much lighter.

Some airlines are stricter than others. We arrange our flights to be during the cheapest rate times, often the off times for the airlines: middle of the day or late night. When they are less busy and there are fewer seats filled, they tend to be more lenient. But nothing replaces a smile of innocence and sincerity.

The best vehicle for the job is one that will get you there and bring you back home again. It gets you there and brings you back safely. Where you choose to go is dependent upon a vehicle that will get you there and bring you home.

Considering a vehicle for your nature travels and explorations, there are a lot of choices. Often the decision is based on economics, but it should be based upon “location use”. In other words, if you plan on getting there and coming back, you need a vehicle that will do the job. Where do you plan on spending a lot of time traveling to or through? If you are thinking of actually taking your camera on the road full-time, check out our article on choosing the ideal recreational vehicle for nature photographers. If you will only travel on highways and main roads, then you can buy just about anything. If you are planning to drive on heavy-duty back roads, washed out gullies, and serious rugged terrain in pursuit of your natural image, then a low-slung sports coupe won’t cope. Four-wheel drive would be the only consideration.

Four-wheel, front-wheel, dually or regular? It feels like you’re ordering a latte. Determining which way to go depends upon your location usage. Front-wheel drive is great for small cars as it literally pulls the car up a hill, but is it enough for serious terrain? Front wheel is great for snow, too. A dually wheel truck is one with two pairs of wheels on the rear axle. These are very stable and sturdy vehicles, but they are wide, making parking and narrow back roads harrowing.

Think about where you go and what you like to do when you get there. The terrain of a location determines the vehicle you need, the engine, wheel structure, sturdiness, and flexibility. Will you be spending most of your time in sand, mud, and rocky terrain, or on smooth, level, and paved surfaces?

What makes the ideal photographic vehicle?

When starting your hunt for the ideal photo vehicle, consider the following:

It must get you there.

It must get you home.

Height

Working with wildlife from your vehicle, height can play an important part. Is the vehicle high enough to see over the fences and rails along the road? Is the undercarriage high enough for clearance in rough terrain?

Cost

It should be inexpensive enough to buy and maintain so you can still afford to buy and process film.

Easy Maintenance

It must be easily repairable (national access to repair shops/800 numbers, parts, manuals, etc.). Make sure the engine is in great shape and is strong enough to do the job you are asking. Then, keep it well-maintained, practicing prevention instead of suffering with band aids.

Comfort

Taking your camera on the road can mean long hours behind the driver’s seat. It can often lead to a condition we know as “truck butt.” Make sure your vehicle is comfortable for long hauls.

Storage Space

It must have enough room to carry all your equipment safely inside, and still give you freedom to breathe and move.

The Right Accessories

Make sure you choose a vehicle with all the accessories you need. If you work a lot with wildlife, consider a very quiet engine. Power windows help to easily adjust the height for resting your camera on a bean bag, but the key must be in the ignition and turned to the accessory position. Does a buzzer or bell sound when you do this and open a door? Can the buzzer be rewired so you don’t scare the animals? Do the windows go all the way down? Air conditioning is a must for hot weather. Durable tires help get you where you’re going, so make sure they are the right kind for the terrain you will be exploring. Is a sunroof important to you? What about tinted windows? Think of the accessories that would make your photography easier, keeping your concentration on the photography and not on the vehicle.

Theft Resistant

It must not say “steal me – I’m loaded with expensive camera equipment!”

Make Friends with your Vehicle

Some vehicles can do the job but they are intimidating to the driver. Study how it works until you feel comfortable with you. You will be spending a lot of time in the vehicle with your camera, so make sure you feel comfortable in it and can handle it.

Versatility

Can you stand on the roof? Will it tow something behind? Will it accept a winch or pulley system? Can you use it as a background (natural coloration)? Think of all the ways you use a vehicle for photography and travel. Will it really meet your needs and be flexible and versatile enough to grow with you?

There are many advantages to using a mobile blind. With the ideal vehicle you can get access to the areas you want, high enough to view over bushes and rails. You’ll have large windows to allow ease in getting your big lenses in and out, and maybe even a sunroof to work out of. Once you have everything you want in a vehicle, here are some tips for using your mobile photography platform.

The Mobile Photographic Platform

Wildlife usually consider a vehicle harmless. They are used to it roaring by. Working from the road out the window can offer many opportunities that disappear as soon as you step outside. Using the window as a brace to rest your camera on, raising it to the right height, is simple. Put a bean bag over the glass and rest the lens on it. Electric windows work quickly and quietly to adjust the window precisely without bending over and struggling with a hand crank. Make sure you turn off the vehicle and let it quit moving before you begin to photograph.

One of the most versatile tools we’ve found for working from a vehicle is the Groofwin, by LL Rue Enterprises It is a unique structure for ground-roof-window support. It can support the heaviest of lenses and hooks over the car window and braces against the door. It will lay flat for photographing from the vehicle roof or from the ground.

Since the car acts as a blind, you can sometimes open the door slowly and crouch behind it, still using the window as a camera support, and still keep the door between you and the animal. For really sensitive animals, we drape a towel or camouflage material over the open window and wrap it around the camera lens to cover our movements.

When photographing with someone else in the vehicle, ask them to limit their movement. The motion rocks the vehicle, making it harder to focus and obtain sharp images. Working from a vehicle can be uncomfortable, as you try to maneuver around the steering wheel and gear shift. It can be even more difficult trying to maneuver around a friend in the seat beside you. To avoid trying to shoot out the same window, one of the photographers can use the back seat.

Easy Access

One of the advantages of working from a vehicle is the convenience of having everything within easy reach. Make sure you have easy access to the equipment you need. To avoid missing opportunities, we keep the camera on the seat beside USA, lens mounted, film loaded, power on, and ready to shoot. Be sure to secure it in case of sudden stops.

Is there space in the vehicle for your camera gear, keeping it ready to grasp and use? Traveling alone, the passenger seat is ideal. With captain’s chairs, a unit can fit between the seats for your gear. If you can easily reach the back seat, this may work. Putting your camera on the dashboard isn’t a good idea as the the heat through the window can be intense. If there is room between you and the steering wheel, you can also put the camera on your lap.

Our Mobile Platform

We’ve worked from many different vehicles, from four-wheel drive rugged monsters to sports cars. As we travel across North America we use our crew cab dually truck as our mobile platform. We use the crew cab with bench seats so both of us can have an entire seat on which to move from side to side. One of the new vans with doors on both sides would work excellent for this. The truck bed and roof also serve as platforms, allowing a sweeping perspective. Unfortunately, a crew cab dually has a very long axle system and it isn’t very maneuverable. It takes a lot of room to do a U-turn. Its size requires a lot of advance planning on where we can take it and what constraints are up ahead on the road.

Think of all the ways you can rely upon your vehicle to become a platform to work from. Consider these when buying your next photo vehicle.

When was the last time you heard a car alarm going off and raced to the phone to call 911? Has anyone??? EVER? NEVER! After 20 minutes, if you do call it’s to have the police tow the thing away. Based on research in the industry, security systems on vehicles are most effective at making you FEEL safer. They don’t do much to actually prevent theft or break-ins.

The keys to protecting your vehicle from theft and break-in are visibility and time delays. The less visible your vehicle is, the less likely it will be a target. If it does become a target, the longer the thieves take to break-in, the less likely they are to hang around to complete the task or the more likely they will be seen and caught.

Many people consider sterring wheel locking devices good for delaying a car thief. The truth is that serious thieves can saw through the steering wheel in seconds and slide these devices right off. For many car thieves, it’s an art form to beat the latest security system. They are like computer hackers, challenged by the latest gimmick.

What can you do?

Plain Brown Wrapper

Choose a vehicle that looks anonymous. Pick a common color like white or tan or choose a best-selling vehicle. Don’t make it a walking billboard that screams “money.” Avoid signs advertising your photo business, or a personalized license plate that reads FOTOSRUS. If you must have a sign promoting your photography business, get magnetic signs and remove them when parking in high-risk areas.

Wash Me

A dirty vehicle gets ignored. Consider only washing your car when you have a special occasion. Really dusty vehicles tend to look old and abandoned, making thieves lose interest fairly quickly.

Plain Brown Wrapper Camera Case

If the camera case sits in plain view in the back seat and says I’m full of expensive equipment”, you are inviting the break-and-grab. If it sits in a old duffel bag, the odds are less likely anyone will pay any attention. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a towel or blanket covering a huge mound in the back seat will convince any determined thief that what you are hiding isn’t valuable. It’s an invitation to them.

Insurance

Get a good insurance plan that will replace your items at the current market value and cover damage and theft of your vehicle. Itemize a full list of EVERYTHING in your camera bag, every filter, film retriever, battery, everything you carry with you. Don’t forget to keep a list of all the things you usually carry in your vehicle. It should all be covered by the insurance policy, not just the big ticket items. Those little pieces add up to some serious money.

Double Locks

It is possible, with some creative mechanical techniques and a locksmith, to create a double or unique locking system for your vehicle. Each automobile’s system is different, so research this thoroughly before attempting yourself. It’s hard for theives to steal a vehicle if they can’t get the doors open.

Stickers

Warning stickers can actually make a thief think twice before testing your alarm system. Skip spending the money on an alarm system no one pays any attention to and just buy the warning stickers for the windows.

Storage Boxes

If you do have to leave your equipment in the car, put it in a nondescript storage box, preferably in the trunk out of site. A metal box locked and then bolted to the frame of the car makes it even harder to break into.

Out of Sight – Out of Mind

We put our equipment in the trunk BEFORE arriving at the destination where we’ll park the car. That way no one gets to watch us hiding or covering our valuables.

Other Delays

Check with a good auto parts store or a mail order company on the Internet. There are lots of ways to delay a thief. Add a switch under the seat or dashboard. When off, the engine won’t start. Remove the easy-to-lift door locks. Use your imagination, there are a lot of options available.

A Serious Photo Vehicle

A friend and fellow photographer has probably the most sophisticated theft prevention setup I’ve ever seen. He drives a white “brown paper wrapper” van, one of millions out and about. Inside is a heavy strong box to store all of his expensive camera gear. The box was designed for cable TV repair crews as their equipment is frequently stolen. It features a recessed lid, making it harder to use a crowbar to pry open as there is no “lip” to wedge under. The locks are inset and catch automatically when the lid closes, so a key must be used at all times. The entire thing is attached to the van’s frame with bolts inside of the bottom of the box. He has stickers on the windows warning of an alarm system. The windows on his van look normal from the outside, but each one is backed with clear unbreakable Lexan Plexiglass. Even if they break through the glass, they run into the Lexan and it stops them. He relocated the locking mechanism on the inside of the door to near the floor, instead of by the window, as is traditional.

The only downside to this incredible vehicle is that if he locks himself out, he’s in trouble. Locksmiths can’t get in without dismantling the door, so he carries lots of extra keys. It is an ideal vehicle for him, as he’s added a small refridgerator and there is room in the back to sleep. He can photograph from the roof, accessable via a ladder on the back, or from the side doors. By creating this amazing setup, he has time on his side. Thieves will fuss with this van a very long time before they come close to breaking in.

Food and the Car

A vehicle out in nature can often be mistaken for a nesting or hiding place. It can also represent dinner to some animals. Raccoons, marmots, squirrels, chipmunks, many curious animals investigate the warm undersides of our vehicles. They like to nibble on water hoses and sleep on warm engine parts. Check your vehicle thoroughly and make a lot of noise before starting the engine to scare out the wildlife. If you spend a lot of time in the wilderness, consider a special removable “under jacket” to your vehicle to help make it animal proof. We’ve come out of the Olympic Mountains many times to find the marmots’ nibbling had drained the radiators at the trail head.

Be aware that food inside the vehicle can also attract wildlife. Our old Thunderbird carries the scars of many such adventures. Bighorn sheep hoof marks decorate the doors. Cat, bird, and squirrel scratches are on the roof and hood. We’ve chased deer and raccoons out of the car because of a forgotten open door. Take care when out in the wilderness. It’s safer to teach the animals that vehicles do NOT mean food and that they are not safe havens.

Choosing a full-time vehicle isn’t like choosing a part-time vehicle. It is more like choosing a home. Since you will be spending more time in it than you probably did your home, there is a lot more to consider than even buying a home.

To help get you started, here are some things you have to take into consideration:

• Must get you there
• Must get you home
• Must meet your travel terrain needs
• Must meet your camping lifestyle (microwave, tv, or roughing it – living arrangements)
• Must carry everything – equipment, people
• Meet your budget?
• Durable and lasting – bouncing kitchen and bed
• Can you drive/pull it?

Must Get You There and Home

Your choice in your full-time RV is mostly based upon where you are going. If you are going to travel and then sit still for a few months or longer, like many snowbirds who spend the south in a specific campground during the winter and then spend the summer in the north, you can usually get a lighter-weight vehicle that doesn’t need to do battle over mountain dirt roads. But if you are going to be going where you will find mountain dirt roads, backroads, and more rugged terrain, then you will need an RV that will get you there and home.

Your decision is also based upon how you want to travel, not just where. Do you want to be able to pick and go quickly, or will you stay in a place for several weeks before moving on? A Class C motor home will pack up and move much quicker than a large motorhome or trailer. Though, some modern large motor homes can pack up and move quickly, but they aren’t so “quick” to travel, being restricted by their poor backing up ability and size. A Class C motorhome and most trailers can park just about anywhere. A large motor home adores a pull-through campsite.

The terrain you will be traveling through also impacts your choice. Lighter weight RVs and trailers will handle just about any paved road, climbing easily through the American and Canadian Rocky Mountians. Large trailers and motor homes are often limited on the steepest slopes, especially at high altitudes where oxygen is thin.

Whichever vehicle you choose, seriously look at the map of your planned travels. Check the campground limitations in the areas where you want to stay. Do they have size or RV limits? Check altitude and terrain to determine if it will take a toll on your vehicle’s engine. Whichever vehicle you choose, just make sure it will get you to where you want to go and get you back.

Camping/Traveling Lifestyle

The size and type of recreational vehicle you choose is also based upon what you will be doing with your vehicle and your lifestyle. The “doing” are the hobbys, interests, and activities you will be participating in while traveling.

Are you a hunter, fisher, surfer, biker, boater, or a fan of other outdoor activities which require a lot of equipment? Then you have to have a vehicle that will carry you, your stuff, and the equipment and toys you need for your activity. Guns and weapons require security storage with locks, which tend to be heavy, so you have to make sure your vehicle will handle the weight of the storage. Fishing, boating, skiing, surfing, and biking require carrying boats, fishing gear, skis, surf boards, and bikes, all things that aren’t easily carried. Putting skis, fishing gear, surf boards, and fishing poles inside most RVs will take up valuable living space. Many people add special racks on the roof or back of their RV to carry this type of equipment. For those into cars, boats, and other things that just won’t fit inside your RV, consider buying a trailer or carrier to tow behind your RV.

Hobbies with less equipment can still take up space. There are many people who do quilting who travel on the road full-time, and they have to carry a sewing machine, fabric, books, and other materials with them and need to be able to store it all somewhere. Coin collecting seems small and contained, but when was the last time you picked up a coin book. They can be heavy. Equipment and materials which take up space and weight all have to be considered when choosing your RV.

Whatever you take with you, you have to find a way to carry it. The RV you choose must accomodate that equipment while still giving you living space.

Your living space must also accomodate your lifestyle needs. With all the technology available, many people are loading up their RVs with satellite dishes, satellite radio, TIVO sets, DVDs, VCRs, and even big screen televisions. Some large motorhomes have been known to host 3 televisions, one in the front over the driver’s head, one in the kitchen area, one in the bedroom. If you must have television, you have to find a place for it.

Same goes for your computer. Some people still feel they can’t live without taking their desktop computer with them, and maybe they can’t, but the price and power of today’s laptop makes desktops for travelers obsolete. Yet, along with your laptop, do you need a printer, full size keyboard, scanner, and other computer equipment? This all has to go somewhere and be stored safely for travel. So you have to make room for it.

There are other smaller lifestyle items that need to be taken into consideration as you plan the size and shape of your RV. If you do a lot of cooking, then you will want your cooking materials to go along for the ride, like pots, pans, knives, cookbooks, steamers, and so on. If you will be traveling during a variety of seasons, warm clothes like sweaters, coats, and sweatshirts and pants take up a lot more space than shorts and t-shirts, so you have to consider the room needed for these things.

Make a list of everything you want to carry with you when you go. Then look at the different motor home and trailer options and storage spaces to see if there is a place for everything you want to bring with you.

RVs Move

I wish there was a way to avoid it. I also wish that air suspension systems actually allowed the vehicle to travel “on air”, but for now, gravity wins and RVs not only move, they bounce, jar, shake, rattle, swing, lurch, heave, vibrate, and sway. When in motion, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, that isn’t tied down or locked up will answer the rule of gravity and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the RV lurches right, everything on the left will be on the floor, and usually broken.

Whatever you put in it, must stay where it is and be safe from the shake, rattle, and roll. Sensitive computer and camera equipment can’t always take the slam dance of the road. Nor can a lot of televisions, microwaves, and VCRs. These need to be tied down and secured as much as possible while traveling.

If you will be traveling with fragile or sensitive equipment, consider choosing an RV with a good suspension system and room to properly and safely store your equipment, protected from the rigors of the road.

Also look at the layout of the inside of the RV. The most bounce is found at the back. Is this a good place for your kitchen, office, or bedroom? If you carry glass plates and glasses, they might not be able to take the impact of a kitchen in the back of the RV. The most stable area of the inside of an RV is in the middle, followed by the front. Think seesaw. The middle, over the wheels, will jar, but the front, and especially the back, will rise up and then slam down and keep bouncing until the ride evens out. Put your most delicate equipment over the wheels or towards the front to get the most stable ride.

The layout of the inside also impacts your lifestyle. A narrow hallway to the bathroom and bedroom can get crowded if more than two people will be in the RV. Walls separating sections within the main living area are nice, as they isolate the areas, but then can crowd you and make you feel claustrophobic if the windows are small. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you feel comfortable inside the RV?
• Do you feel crowded?
• When you put all your stuff inside, will there be room for you to move?
• Can you move through the RV without difficulty?
• Can you easily reach the storage areas and cabinets without strain?
• Are there places where you will bump into or hit your head on?
• Are the windows in convenient and welcome spots?
• Are there enough windows and light for you?
• Can you get in and out of the RV without strain?

This should start an avalanche of your own questions. Make a list and make sure that the RVs you look at answer these questions to your satisfaction.

Can You Drive/Pull It?

Visiting with a couple in their new fancy motor home, we watched an elderly couple back in their 5th wheel trailer and disconnect the truck. The man said, “If I don’t like this motor home, what do you think about getting a 5th wheel? Looks a lot easier. Just pull up, disconnect, and you are done.” I assured him that this wasn’t true and told him to watch closer.

The woman directed the man back into the spot. Then the two of them went to work. They had to put blocks down to level the trailer, but then the trailer was twisted, so the truck had to also be put on blocks. Back and forth they pulled and pushed the small trailer. When both were finally level, the legs had to come down on the front of the trailer. Wood blocks had to come out to set the front legs on in the soft gravel. Now that the front of the 5th wheel trailer was stable and free standing, it was time to disconnect the truck.

The man struggled with his beer belly to squeeze in between the truck and trailer under the 5th wheel to disconnect the electric and brake system, and then unpin the trailer hitch on the truck. He got back into the truck while the wife held the cables away from the truck so they wouldn’t hook, and the truck slowly pulled forward, then rocked from side to side as it cleared the trailer and then rolled off the leveling blocks. More blocks were added at the back of the trailer for the back stablizing jack legs and wheel locking chocks were set in place between the trailer tires to further stablize and lock the trailer in place. Between the front legs and the back stablizing jacks, the couple had to mess around with things to get the trailer level front to back. Then the metal trailer steps were manually hauled out and the trailer door unlocked, and the barbeque came out, and the awning unrolled and they were finally good to go.

It took about 45 minutes for them to set up their 5th wheel. I turned to my new friend. “How long does it take you to set up this motor home?”

“Once I disconnect the car, about 10 minutes.”

“And you just push buttons to level this thing, right?” He agreed and admitted that his expensive new toy certainly required a lot less energy than the 5th wheel and truck combination.

Can you handle the RV you are considering? If so, go for it. But think about it. When you go full-time, you aren’t buying for a couple week trip. You are buying for years. If we realized that 10 years later we would be still living in our 30 foot 5th wheel, we’d have definitely made some different buying decisions back then. A trailer is a lot of work, and it takes a strong back and arm to handle much of the work associated with moving and setting up this thing. Have the owner or salesperson take you through the setup and take down of the RV to see if you can handle all the work and effort involved.

Can you drive it? Can you pull it? Are you will to buy the right vehicle that has the power you need to pull the size of trailer you are considering? The heavier it is, the harder to drive. The longer it is, the more of a challenge to maneouver. Think this through thoroughly before investing in a full-time vehicle.

Before You Buy It – Rent

If you are thinking about buying a recreational vehicle, take a moment to consider how often you will really use it. Don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the fantasy of ownership as an initiative to look out your window and see it parked in your drive way and feel compelled to race out and go somewhere. Owning a recreational vehicle means work. It takes time to load up the food and equipment every time you go somewhere, and more time to clean it up and empty it when you get back. Everytime you stop and camp, a lot of work can go into setting it up and taking it down, hooking up water, electricity and dealing with sewer connections. You have to weatherize and protect it during the different seaons, whether in use or not. They require maintenance, tune-ups, lubrication and care and feeding just like your car and often more frequently, compared to the normal use of your average car. Trust us. Recreational vehicles might be for recreation but they are also a lot of work.

Before you buy one, rent one. Check it out by putting it into use. There are many places around the country that specialize in renting motor homes, vans, and Class C motor homes. With a valid driver’s license, you can rent one and test drive it for a weekend, week, or more. See how it feels. Does it really meet your expectations? How does it really work for you in the field? Do you enjoy being in it, or can’t wait to get out? Does it go to where you want to go and get you home or restrict your travels? Think about all the possibilities as you are using it, and see if it still appeals to you.

Another benefit to renting is the test of your patience, determination, and staminia. Traveling in a recreation vehicle is hard work, a lot of work, and requires endless patience. You just can’t pull out into traffic with a stomp on the gas pedal. You have to watch for an opening large enough to give you enough time to ease your way in. You gain a whole new respect for the distance required to come to a stop. Your internal driving map grows in size as you plan miles in advance each anticipated turn or exit, moving at slug speeds through traffic to maneover yourself in the right position. People stare at you, honk at you, shake their fists, and may even yell at you, but you are a logging truck on the traveling road and everything takes longer. It is very stressful. We remember driving to four gas stations on fumes trying to find one whose roof was tall enough to accomodate our trailer’s high roof line. Or getting stuck in rush hour traffic, unable to move over to get to our exit, and having to drive dozens of miles out of the way to circle back to the right road. It is a serious test of patience and stress level. Maybe this isn’t right for you. Before you invest thousands of dollars, rent or borrow and find out for sure.

If you seriously look at your life plans and photographic projects and past travel history and find that you would only do this two to three times a year, then rent and save the bigger ticket price on a recreational vehicle for a new tripod or that beautiful 600mm autofocus lens you’ve been dreaming about. Or stick to car camping with a new tent and comfortable sleeping bags and pads and travel nice and small and portable. We traveled in our car and tent for many years before investing in our trailer, and so can you. Choose wisely and safely.

"Gadgets! Gadgets! All God’s children love gadgets!" Sings Sophie Tucker, the late great lady vaudevillian and comedian. "Buy one, buy one! All my friends say try one." She was singing about the then new electric refrigerator, but the travel industry is not immune to the "efficienct" and “gimmick” technologies. In fact, traveling is often easier and more fun with all the gadgets available to the traveler. For the photographer, these can be a great help, as well as speed up the process of doing things so you can get back out there and photograph.

Cook stoves

There are a variety of cook stoves available if your dining experience is enhanced by eating outside of restaurants and saving money. Some are complicated gadgets, others are light weight burners, and others feature double burners and oven attachments. Our favorite is the Peak One by Coleman. It is a light weight single burner stove which can run on kerosene or unleaded gasoline with a special attachment. It features an adjustable leveling strip on the bottom to work with a variety of uneven grounds and tables.

Flashlights

Simply put, all you need is a good flashlight with a bright light and fresh batteries. But why stop there. We have to have a pen flashlight for Brent’s camera bag. Lorelle has to have a pen light with an adjustable and flexible head for reading at night. She also has to have a light that hangs around her neck on a cord which opens up to direct light on a book or a needle work project. We have to have headlamps for both of us. Then there’s that great snake flashlight with a flexible hose on it which will bend into all kinds of shapes to aim the light where we need it. Oh, and the big flashlight to use when walking to the outhouses. The spare flashlight for the car, one for the truck, and an extra pen light attached with Velcro just inside the door of the trailer – which always seems to be missing when you need it most. One by the bed, an extra in the kitchen, a spare in the suitcase….there are many kinds of flashlights out there for a variety of uses. Pick your fancy – just make sure you always carry extra batteries. Preferably the ones that match the flashlight that just went dead.

Clothing Travel Irons

Travel irons are great tools. There are steam travel irons, small travel irons, 12 volt travel irons, steamers, pressers and straighteners. All are designed to fit into cute little pouches to fit into your suitcase. We highly recommend getting one of the new models with the extra long cord – in whatever color and design you choose. But what about an ironing board or surface? Some campgrounds, motels and hotels will allow you to use a small ironing board for those desperate times, but you can also lay a towel either on the bed or the floor and iron on that.

Shortwave Radio

While you maybe out of range for most radio stations once in a while, or in a country where English news is not readily available, a shortwave radio can be a life saver. A good one features both AM and FM channels in addition to the various shortwave bands. In the USA, night is the best time to access most overseas stations fairly clearly. A shortwave radio can help you keep up with the news, provide entertainment, and weather reports.

Barameter/Temperature Meters

There are a variety of barameters, temperature guages and humidity level indicators available in high tech boxes with LCD readouts, or pick your choice of a wide range of old fashioned ones inset in wood. These gauges are great for helping to predict the weather outcome, which can seriously affect your photographic and adventure choices. These can also tell you what kind of coat or hat to put on before heading outside.

Door Alarms – Motion Detectors

Personal safety and self protection gadget stores are popping up all over the place. If you are a hotel or motel traveler, a good security device is a motion detector door alarm. They are typically under $30, battery powered and hang on the door knob inside your room while you are inside. Someone messes with the door, the alarm sounds. It not only attracts attention, it often gives you enough time to grab the phone before the burgler can get it. Or it will just scare them away. There are all kinds of sophisticated alarm systems for the personal traveler. When I have been nervous about where I am staying, I will often shove a doorstop under the door from the inside of the room. It might not stop someone, but it will slow them down. And make use of all security locks on the doors.

Collapsable Expandable Luggage

For a gadget lover, this kind of luggage is prized. There are all kinds of suitcases, briefcases, purses, packs and cases that offer the ability to "stretch-to-fit". They feature zipper areas which may remain closed when not needed, but when needed, they unzip and expand out for an inch or more. A favorite gadget suitcase Lorelle used for years (until the bottom fell out) was the suitcase that opened on the top and had wheels on the bottom. When needed, it would unzip the expando part and double in height. Made out of durable but lightweight fabric and most will take quite a beating.

Wheels on Everything

One of the traveling tools Lorelle hates to be without is her luggage carrier. She uses it for everything, even bringing the groceries into the house from the car. Her favorite is one that also features a seat that will drop down off the back so she can rest while waiting in line at the airport. Get a durable and sturdy one with very sturdy wheels. Lorelle tells stories of the cobblestone roads and sidewalks she has dragged her luggage carrier over in Europe and Mexico. She’s literally snapped the wheels right off. Some luggage carriers even come with traction tires. If you are going to rugged terrain, it’s something to consider.

GPS

Forget the traditional compass! There’s a better way now. All kinds of gadgetry is available that takes advantage of satellites called Global Positioning Services (GPS). These tell you where you are at all times. You can not only target where you are but where you are going. Many modern cars take advantage of GPS and tell you where you are and where you should be going and how to get there. You still should know how to read a map, though.

Mosquito Repellent Clothing

Mosquitos a problem? Worried about West Nile Virus? Clothing manufacturers have come up with clothing featuring fabric with mosquito and bug repellent IN the material. Amazing. These are typically light-weight and breathable fabrics, too, as the mosquitos tend to thrive in hot climates. Shirts, pants, hats, and scarfs, all bug proof. Yeah!

Watches!

Oh, you want a watch, mister? We got some watches! What kind are you interested in? Big or small, numbers or ticks, glow in the dark, illuminating, or reflective? Do you want an altimeter? Or to measure how far you go? Or to monitor your heart rate or breathing? Or link up with GPS to find out where you are? One that will link up to your computer to upload your schedule? One that will dial phones? Whatcha want? We got them all! But seriously, we searched for 4 years to find the right watch for Lorelle. It had to feature a white or very easy to see face background with numbers, not Roman numerals or dots. It needed to have a second hand, and the numbers and hands had to glow in the dark for night photography. It also needed to have a button to trigger the illumination of the watch face. Sounds easy to find, but it wasn’t. She finally found the perfect watch from Fossil Watches.

Online Weather Reports

Online services and the internet are great resources for finding out what the weather is like when you need it. You can also research historical information such as the fact that it typically doesn’t rain in July where you want to go. You can monitor the weather 24 hours a day, pick up satellite photographs, and get all kinds of weather related information. Just dial in.

The Weather One Weather Broadcast Receiver

This little "radio" provides current and accurate weather information 24 hours a day by reading the broadcasts of NOAA and the National Weather Service. NOAA is the sole government-operated weather radio designed to provide direct warnings for national disasters. Great for current local and distant weather forecasts in the United States.

Mobile Office Vehicle

If you are truly serious about your life on the road, there is a company for you. In Zeeland, Michigan, they will create for you the ultimate Mobile Office Vehicle called MO-V. It is a van complete with desk, swivel chairs, notebook computer, desk-jet printer, fax, and hands-free cellular and desk phones. The vehicles sell for an average price of $30,000. According to the news release, the Yankee Groups, a consulting firm in Boston, "estimates that by 1997 close to 6 million workers will be doing part or all of their jobs using mobile phones, faxes and modems." These people must be on to something here. Your office in a van. Why not? I just want to know where the bed and refridgerator are.

Connect Computers

Today you are no longer bound to the hard drive in your computer or laptop. With software programs like LapLink and PCAnywhere, you can dial in from anywhere to your computer at home and run programs, look up and exchange and store files. If you use a network at work, you can also connect through the network, too. The technology is here to add a television and FM radio to your computer as well. What more could you want? A computer is now a telephone, fax, mail, copier, television, movie screen, radio, bulletin board, address book, calendar, and you name it!

Hot Coolers

The old ice chest has met it’s match. There are a variety of 12 volt coolers/warmers on the market now, and the prices are affordable. They just plug into your car cigarette lighter and require no ice. There is a "6 pack" size up to 36 quarts or more. Some open on the top like a regular cooler and others open on the side like a refrigerator. Each size pulls a different ampage so you will need to watch out that you don’t run down your car battery if it sits for a long period of time. For under $100 you never need to buy ice again and battle with water soaked food. Cool.

Fold up Coolers

Not into electrically cooled or heated ice chests? There are a variety of insulated fabric bags and packs destined to replace the old fashioned plastic cooler. When empty, these compress down and stay flat with velcro attachments. Open them up and they form different sized coolers from a six-pack of soda size to a full size ice chest. Some are even shaped like purses or small briefcases for day trips. Look out for poorly made ones with thin removable liners which will tear and crack in the cold. There are some really good fold up coolers that will last for years.

Platypus Bottles

Carrying water with you when you travel is critical in some areas, especially far from "civilization". Lorelle loves the Platypus water bottles available at major recreation stores throughout the United States. These leak-proof plastic water bottles collapse as they are drained, flattening out to take up little space in your luggage and pack. They are available in a variety of sizes. Lorelle enjoys the 1/2 liter bottles for traveling, carrying two to four of them with her. The liter bottle is good for long distance hiking or biking and can be used in a camel pack with a tube attached for easy drinking access. Convenient for camping from the car are the larger collapsible containers. There is a size for you

Air Detectors

The biggest killers of people in recreational vehicles is carbon monoxide and propane. Second comes smoke. Luckily, it’s now a law that trailers and motor homes must come equipped with a propane detector and smoke detector. Legislation is being considered to require carbon monoxide detectors in every trailer and motor home. They can be purchased from most hardware stores, but look closely. They come in 110 volt and 12v battery. Pick the one that meets your needs. A trailer may not always be plugged into electricity. This is your life we are talking about.

This is not a complete list of gadgets that are available for the traveler, but it opens your mind to the possiblities. People are always coming up with innovative ways to do things better, faster and more efficiently. If you know of any gadgets that might prove interesting, add your suggestions to our comments below. We are ALWAYS looking for new travel gadgets.

No matter what anyone says, you do more on a vacation that you would ever do if you stayed home and went to work like usual. There’s something about a vacation that screams “MUST SEE ALL NOW!” Like there are no second chances. We have friends who did Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and a bus tour of the area all in one day. They thought they had seen it all. They probably did, but the point is that they saw it all at 60 mph. There’s something wrong with this picture.

Sure you can overstuff your travel plans, but for the photographer, it limits the opportunities and the pleasure which comes from spending time with a single subject. It makes the stress to “get the shot and leave” more intense, especially if someone is standing around waiting for you who isn’t interested in photography. So what can you do?

Prioritizing

Photography and the stress of a totally overloaded vacation don’t go much hand in hand. Prioritize what you want to see and allow yourself plenty of time to see it. Two hours at Disneyland will never be enough time. Thirty minutes at California’s Monterey Aquarium is never enough time. If you don’t know how long a tour or museum visit will last, call them and ask what they feel is the appropriate and average length of time to spend there and then add an hour or two.

Working with wildlife and nature subjects puts a complete stop on the vacation travel clock. Either they don’t cooperate or the weather or light doesn’t. You have to spend time with anything to get good shots. So prioritize and slow down. No matter what you might think or what anyone may say, you can always come back if you find something more. Pick three to five things to concentrate on instead of 25. Research your subject so you understand how best to approach and work with it. Learning by the seat of your pants is great unless you don’t have the time. Advance knowledge and preparation will make what time you do have less stressful and probably more successful.

Working Within the Available Time Constraints

When time is short, plan ahead. Check addresses and maps ahead of time to help you get around. Double-check opening and closing times of all parks, facilities, and visitors’ centers, plan for the best times to be where you need to be. You’ll get to see more wihtout wasting time waiting, and you won’t have to learn the hard way that the wildlife refuge is closed on Fridays.

Give yourself time in each place to explore with your camera and time to get to the next place without stress. Plan for the priority subjects first, but allow for time in between in case you get caught up and spent extra time in one place, or the traffic between locations is heavy. You don’t have to plan every minute, but you do have to plan for transportation time, as well as free time, in your schedule.

Making do with what you get

Brent and I dreamed of going to Alaska. The wide open spaces, the big wild animals, the wild everything! Finally, after several years of missed opportunities, we arrived. For the two week adventure we are determined to enjoy the full experience of Alaska. About day 5, we started snapping and fighting over little things. We love to travel and have done so for years with great success, with and without each other. We love traveling with each other more than anything. We’d never fought like this. What was happening to us?

It didn’t take long to realize that we were both disappointed. Our expectations weren’t being met. How? No wildlife. None. Zip. Okay, the occasional squirrel, but nothing big, magnificent, nothing that screamed out “The Wilds of Alaska!” Our expectation of great grizzlies, proud elk, monster mooses, and all our plans to bring back the most dramatic images of our life – down the tubes. When you are disappointed, you get mad at the people around you. We remembered that wild animals aren’t the only thing people associate with Alaska. Incredible scenics were everywhere, with lots of close-up material, and we celebrated the beautiful colors of fall in the tundra. Once we let go of our preconceived notions and expectations, we had a great time. In the end we brought back some of the best images! Eventually we even found a moose or two.

Let go of your expectations. Let go of preconceived plans. Keep your mind open to all possibilities. Remember, the sunset itself might be quite ordinary, and the gold light of evening can work magic. Turn around and see what’s glowing behind you. The more you are open to the possibilities that come to you, the better your vacation and the more exciting your images will be.

Does this sound familiar? You rush around, pack, throw everything in the vehicle, race to the ideal photographic locale and nothing happens. It’s either raining, too sunny, too cloudy when you want sunny, too dark, crowded or just plain inaccessible. No matter how hard and how well you plan your photographic adventures, there will be those times when you will just be waiting around for the photo opportunity. Make the "waiting around" times work for you by filling in these gaps with productive activities.

Plan Ahead

During the waiting arounds we plan ahead. We wander around an area looking for photo opportunities and locations to come back to and photograph when the light is right. And we are always thinking about the next trip. We carry maps and guidebooks with us, research materials and a notebook to make notes about the trip. If the wait is long enough, you will often find us in the visitor center, local bookstores and libraries researching the area or our next trip.

Cleaning Time

Those of you who really use your equipment often need to take time to do the little cleaning things that help keep it out of the repair shop and improve the quality of your images. Pull out all your lenses and carefully clean the front elements, check for moisture inside, and take off the rear lens cap. With a camel hair brush and a cotton tipped swap, clean the connections where the lens connects electronically or manually to the camera. Be careful not to get any fibers inside the lens.

Reorganization Yourself

During waiting around periods, take time to reorganize your camera bag and pack. You may find a few things you’d forgotten you were carrying, and you may rediscover some lost things. Take time to empty the whole bag or pack and tip it upside down to get all the crumbs and dirt that seem to collect in the bottom. This is an ideal time to give some thought to reorganizing how the lenses and accessories are stored. Then take a few moments to reorganize the car. Re-pack and clean up the cooler and food stuffs, pull together dirty laundry, clean cooking utensils, empty the trash, and try to find everything in the car again. A clean vehicle and camera pack makes the process of finding what you need fast and easy.

R&R

Travel is exhausting. The hours are weird, the sleep often limited, the food erratic, the equipment too heavy, and the photographic opportunities overwhelming. Sometimes the mind just screams to shut down the overloaded senses. Without balancing the process with some rest and relaxation, we become stressed, anxious and fixated on the burn out rather than the possibilities. Read a book. Just close your eyes and listen to the music on the radio or tape. Just drive somewhere aimlessly. Take a walk. Read a book. Do something other than concentrate on photography or traveling. Your mind and soul need a break from the pressures. No matter what anyone thinks when they envy what you do, remember that this is very exhausting work. Spoil yourself once in a while with a good rest and recharge.

Take a Walk

Don’t bring your camera gear. Just bring yourself, or maybe an umbrella. Just walk. Have a destination in mind or not. Just walk. Walk alone or with a friend, just move your legs. You’d be really surprised at how much your head will clear and your energy will return if you just move your legs. You have to wait around anyway, so why not move around while waiting. It will leave you energized and ready for when the moment comes.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Bang! Silence. Beep! Beep! Beep! Smash! Silence. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! This is not an episode of Batman. These are the sounds from our tent in the early morning. What you are hearing is the delay of the inevitable: Getting up. There’s something about a warm cozy sleeping bag that has priority over freezing cold air. There’s something special about those last few minutes of sleep that turn into a half hour of snoozes….sometimes that’s the best kind of sleep, right? Ah, the woes of the beeps, buzzers and snoozes that keep us from our task: to get out and photograph the first light of day.

Keep Focused

A nature photographer’s day is different from everyone else’s. Rise at the crack of pre-dawn in order to be somewhere before dawn; work until 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning; do little until late afternoon, typically around 4:00 PM and then photograph everything in sight in afternoon light until twilight. They do it all over again the next early morning. If it’s one of those special bright overcast days – or a rainy and ugly day for most people – you’ll find us out there all day, dawn to dusk, capturing the magic light on our subjects.

It’s a screwy and unpredictable life. If we plan for a clear day, it rains. If we want rain, it snows. If we want fog, it’s sunny and bright. We learn to work with what we get rather than what we want, staying open-minded, flexible, and ready. A good plan keeps us motivated.

How do you keep the procrastination and motivation going on a trip? By creating a plan. We find we are much more likely to rouse ourselves from the bed or bag when we have a definite plan for the morning. Without a plan, it’s very hard to give up a warm and comfortable bed. Besides, the weather might change for the worse, the sunrise never show up, or our subject just not cooperate. So why bother? If we know we need to be on the sand dunes to shoot patterns and scenics at sunrise…to sleep in costs us opportunities. If we must move on later that day, we may never get another chance. Even if we are staying, it will cost us another morning to try again. The loss cuts into other chances. A lost morning delays other plans during the day and like dominos, cascades throughout the day, messing up schedules and plans. The rush to catch up stresses us out, hampering our creativity and concentration.

Make Lists

Before going to a location, we take time to examine our files and stock lists for areas of incomplete coverage. By making a photographic want list and researching those subjects, we know ahead of time where a particular plant grows and when it blooms, the basic habits of local animals, what their food and water needs are, and what type of landscapes and artifacts may be found there. We study nature and field guides, travel guides, natural history references, magazines, the internet, everywhere we can to get the information we need to know more about what we are photographing and seeing. When we arrive, we check out the visitor centers and information signs, and talk to rangers and locals for more information. Having a shooting plan and a time frame to accomplish it in is very important. It keeps us motivated and on track. There is no time to lose if every moment is filled. Advance planning will trigger the imagination when you need a little kick in the hindquarters.

Do It Different or Better

Part of our motivation comes from trying to do what no one has done before, or from trying to do it better than it has been done before. Prior to leaving on a photographic trip, we prepare by studying the area and various guide books. We will also look at photographs and picture books so we know what other photographers have done at that location. Knowing what is available to photograph, we make our own plans and lists of subjects, time, and places. This subject would be better in afternoon light, visit this waterfall on a cloudy day, look for fog in the valley as the sun rises. This list keeps us motivated to go on working and trying, because we have a plan. If we find ourselves distracted by obligations or the logistics of traveling, we review the list and refocus our goals.

Don’t be afraid to check out stock agency images or the web pages of local photographers. See what they’ve done and think about how you can do better. It’s not about standing in their footsteps (or tripod holes) to duplicate their work, it is about learning how others see the location and subjects, and finding something new and different. The more you familiarize yourself with what has “gone before”, the less inclined you are to repeat it, and the more incentive you have to be greater.

Check out our article on Hiring Yourself to help keep you motivated.